In addition, Representative Luis Gutierrez, an Illinois Democrat, has called for the House Judiciary Committee to hold hearings on the Martin-Zimmerman case.

“We need a national investigation of the racial context that led to Trayvon Martin’s slaying,” Jackson wrote in an article published by the Chicago Sun-Times and posted on the Rainbow/PUSH website. “Congress must act. And it’s time to call on the United Nations Human Rights Commission for an in-depth investigation of whether the U.S. is upholding its obligations under international human rights laws and treaties. Trayvon Martin’s death demands much more than a jury’s verdict on George Zimmerman. It calls for us to hear the evidence and render a verdict on the racial reality that never had its day in court at the trial.”